dear peanut | elinor at 19 months

oh miss elinor, what a bundle of hilarity and amazing , you are. i wish i could bottle you up and remember you exactly as you are. the faces, the sass, the sweetness, the concern, the wit, the empathy. you burst with each and every one in various combinations, each and every day. some moments are a charming concoction of kindness and wit. and other moments, you are just a ball of silliness and sass. and just when we start to worry that you are a bit too judgmental, you do something so dear and darling and sweet. you furrow your brow and delicately pet coco when she is acting wild. you try to rock a baby or feed a baby. you give sweet and slobbery kisses when i stub my toe. you hug a child who seems upset. you delight us and challenge us and entertain and amaze.

here are just a few things that you are up to lately:

you like to twirl and dance and dramatically squat and pop up with a cheerful, "woah!"

you copycat everything. you help us clean. you remind us to feed and water the dogs. you rearrange furniture.

you are a curator and collector. you dig in cupboards and drawers and boxes to select your treasures and then you pile them into special elinor collections. sometimes, a spoon and block and rag and book. other times, a strainer and tiny bowl and box of raisins and a shoe. you have very particular and peculiar ideas of what should comprise each daily collection...and it is the funniest to watch your process and your exhilaration when you get it just right.

you talk. and talk and talk. you have stories to tell and do whatever is necessary to meet your internally established word quota. there are moments when you just list all the words you can think of. and other times, you sit thoughtfully and look into my eyes and just talk. pausing for my response and then carrying on. in those moments, i can only marvel and hold back the misty-eyed-ness as i realize what a big girl, little person you are.

you are obsessed with ice. i mean, no one can blame you with all the triple-digit business. a few days ago, you ate ice for breakfast. you woke up and we nursed and then your eyes widened with sheer delight as you screamed, "iiiiiiice! ice, ice!" i get some crushed ice and you played and sucked on it for a good two hours. you transfer it from cup to bowl and back again. you feed some to your furry buddies. you drop pieces everywhere leaving tiny toddler puddles. you spill melted water on my lap to help cool me off. you suck on the little pieces like they are pure gold. you are obsessed. and with those new molars that are still causing some mild annoyance for you, the ice really does the teething trick. meanwhile, my mind is stuck on ice ice baby, all the live-long day. thanks for that.

you love your weekend chill time with papa. you get to sit on the couch together reading a book or enjoying your special curious george time or listening to music...and you snack. usually raisins or some banana or dried mulberries or cashews. but every so often, you get to share some treat with papa. and to say that you are over the moon about it would be an understatement. and it is so darn cute to see you lounging on his lap or squished up next to him, just loving life. it is like you know that it is a treat. and you revel in it.

you love the water.

you have the a wilting judgmental eyes stare.

you love candles. you pick them up and scrunch up your nose and make the loudest sniffing sound. you move your face as close to the wax as possible and just breath it all in. again, your faces are killer. your candle face is pretty hilarious.

you are so cute, it hurts. and you work it.

you are beyond bright. you have flashes of just sheer genius. scary smart stuff. and your parents just shoot a glance at each another in disbelief and total uh-oh.

you make life busy and happy and fun.

oh, oh, we love you so.

and while we're at it, let's jot down some of your words and phrases for the old memory book. here's your current list and you are adding more every single day. obviously, you don't enunciate and articulate perfectly on all of these and you like to give some of them your own pizzazz... but you know what you mean. and we know what you mean too, which is really fun.